A group of friends have raised a fantastic £4,460 to support the skin cancer department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham following their fundraising efforts.

Roger Calow, Sue Winwood, David Wallis and Mark Preece are all patients at QEHB who are being treated for skin cancer, and met whilst taking part in the immunotherapy trials at the hospital. The immunotherapy trials have been supported by QEHB Charity, with doctors prescribing drugs that induce and encourage the patient’s own immune system to fight the melanoma.

The immunotherapy treatment has made a real difference to patient’s lives, with Sue Winwood saying: “I was given two months to live, and the doctors decided to put me onto the immunotherapy trial to see if it would make a difference. Well that was three years ago now. I’ve still got terminal cancer, but the immunotherapy trial has given me three years of life that I would not have had without it.”

Sue met Roger, David and Mark whilst they were taking part in the trial together and the friends decided to turn their attention to raising money for the skin cancer department that was treating them. Each of the four went about it a slightly different way. Earlier this year, the Charity brought you news of Roger’s plans to climb the height of Mount Everest up the stairs at QEHB, following on from his challenge back in 2015 that saw him cycle the height of Mount Everest!

Roger, alongside his friends, family, and members of staff from QEHB, took it in turns to climbs up to the top of the hospital over the course of the day. The team had to make a total of 230 ascents, to make the goal of 8,840 metres. Roger said: “It was a challenging day but it was fantastic to see so many people take on an ascent or two to help us reach our target. I was delighted that we were able to make it to the top of Everest, and we had so much support that we even added the height of Ben Nevis on top of Everest!”

The team’s Everest challenge raised a fantastic amount of money, as well as raising awareness of skin cancer around the hospital. The team’s fundraising efforts did not stop there, Sue Winwood said: “I would like to thank the football team and all of the patrons at my local pub, The Dog, at Water Orton for helping to raise money to support our campaign!”

David Wallis was delighted to help Roger make it to the height of Mount Everest, and said: “It was a great day helping Roger and the team make it to the top of Everest. We received so much support, and were stunned by the donation that we received. In particular I’d like to thank Helen and Staffan from De Montfort Fine Art for their generous donation of £500.”

Mark Preece paid tribute to all of those who have supported the team throughout their treatment and their fundraising, saying: “We have all received such an amazing amount of support from our friends and family since we started our treatment, huge thanks go to everyone who has helped us raise such a fantastic amount of money to support the skin cancer department at QEHB.”

Rachel Learmonth, Senior Fundraiser at QEHB Charity, said: “It has been a pleasure to work alongside Roger, Sue, David and Mark as they have been fundraising for the Charity. They have all worked hard, going ‘over and above’ to raise the funds, which will make a huge difference to the skin cancer department.

“The Charity is proud to support the skin cancer department, with its world class work on immunotherapy trials, which would not be possible without the kind donations of the Charity’s supporters.”

If you would like to learn more about how QEHB Charity supports the skin cancer department, please click here.

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